Across the US, surgical services are estimated to comprise around 20% of national health spending and typically generate up to 70% of total health system revenue.1, 2 That makes surgical services the largest revenue generator for a hospital, supporting access to numerous other healthcare services. Considering the average hospital has…

Read More

Any process improvement project is far more likely to succeed with backing from leadership. The familiar phrase, “the buck stops here,” reflects a mindset that applies to OR managers who take ownership of what happens to their patients and their staffs every day. But what if they could say, “the…

Read More

The COVID-19 pandemic is top of mind for ambulatory surgery center (ASC) leaders, finds the OR Manager 2020 Salary/Career Survey. Most of the 69 ASC leaders who completed the survey responded to an open-ended question about how the pandemic had affected their facility and staff, with the most frequent comments…

Read More

With more technologically advanced procedures being performed in ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs), it’s increasingly important to monitor data on supplies and manage physician preferences for particular implants. Physicians don’t always realize that reimbursement is lower for many procedures performed in an ASC than in hospitals, and therefore they may not…

Read More

Editor's Note A Kaufman Hall survey released October 19 finds that nearly 75% of hospital executives are “extremely” or “moderately” worried about their organizations’ financial viability without a COVID-19 vaccine. One third say year-over-year operating margins dropped more than 100% in the second quarter. The only specialty area that a…

Read More

Editor's Note This study by researchers from Children’s Mercy Hospital, Kansas City, Missouri, and others found that for four economy-sensitive conditions, increased unemployment was associated with increased pediatric hospitalizations. A 1% increase in unemployment was associated with a: 5% increase in hospitalization for substance abuse 4% increase for diabetes 2%…

Read More

Editor's Note David Nabarro, MD, the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) special envoy on COVID-19 in a video interview on October 10 urged world leaders to stop using lockdowns as their primary COVID-19 control method. He added that WHO believes the only time a lockdown is justified is to buy time…

Read More

Editor's Note The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on October 6 released guidance on how it will implement an interim final rule that requires hospitals and critical access hospitals to report data on COVID-19 and flu patients. CMS says failure to report specified data may lead to termination…

Read More

Editor's Note Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), Alex Azar, on October 2, renewed the national public health emergency (PHE) for COVID-19 for another 90 days. The renewal will take effect October 23. This is the third renewal of PHE, which has been in effect since late January. The…

Read More

Editor's Note US healthcare added 52,800 jobs in September for a seasonally adjusted 15, 839,600, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on October 2. Hospitals lost 6,400 jobs, but nursing and residential care facilities added 1,600 jobs. Ambulatory healthcare services also added jobs, including physicians (18,200), dentists (3,900), and home…

Read More